Restaurant Review: Habaneros Mexican Grill

Habaneros Mexican Grill

I’ve eaten at a number of the Habaneros restaurants over the last couple of years, including El Cerro on University Boulevard, and the Habaneros in the Walmart Shopping Center in Casselberry. My husband likes the food at Habaneros, so we pop in a couple of times a month at the location in Oviedo, about a block from Home Depot. (I have no sense of direction so it could be a little more than a block.) Habaneros is at 829 Eyrie Drive in Oviedo in what was once the Oviedo Inn, and later, Toucan Willie’s.

The atmosphere at Habaneros is relaxed and casual, and the restaurant is clean. They have a porch area, a good-sized dining room, and a bar. Images of sun gods and personified singing peppers provide minimal wall decoration. What I find unusual is that while the food is served on stoneware plates, the drinks are served in paper cups. The margaritas are wonderful, but I find the paper cups, well, out-of-place. (At one time, they served drinks in glasses.)

The menu offers a variety of dishes, including appetizers, soup, and lunch combo plates. Dinner includes chicken, seafood, steak, enchilada, vegetarian, and combination dinners. Earlier this week, my husband ordered the Grande Special—a burrito, bean tostado, chile relleno, enchilada, taco. I had the Beef Steak Picado with salsa verde—steak slices simmered in a spicy green sauce. We finished dinner with an order of sopapillas, fried flour tortillas drizzled with honey and cinnamon. The food is quite good, and the quality is always consistent. Lunch is $6.50 – $8.50 for combination platters, and $6.75 – $9.95 for a la carte. Dinner platters range from $9.50 – $12.99. Children’s plates are $4.99 (10 and under). All dishes are oversized; you get more than enough food for the price.

Unlike the food, the service is not always consistent nor is it always good. The servers are good about taking our drink orders and serving chips and salsa, and the food is usually served quick, but we often find ourselves abandoned after the food arrives. We went early this week, and my husband finally had to ask for napkins and forks. They never brought either, so he had to get paper towels from the men’s room that we could use as napkins. The situation soon degraded, but I’ll spare you the details for now. I do recommend dining at Habaneros at least once. You’re sure to enjoy the food, especially for the price, and if your standards for service are flexible, you may have a worthy dining experience.